Spindle picker check for looms



June 19, 1951 G. cRoMPToN, JR 2,557,863

SPINDLE PICKER CHECK FOR -LOOMS Filed Aug. l5, 1949 WMM Patented June 19, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SPINDLE PICKER 'CHECK FOR LOOMS George Crompton, Jr., Framingham, Mass.

Application August 15, 1949, Serial No. 110,383

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to checks for the picker sticks of fly shuttle looms, and more especially for picker sticks operating spindle guided pickers, wherefore the invention is useful in drop-box looms, especially 6 X 1, 4 x l, and 2 x 1 looms.

One object of the invention is to provide a smoother acting loom to the end that, vibration being lessened, the warp and lling breakage will be less for a given speed in picks per minute. Another object of the invention is the attainment of greater speed as measured by picks per minute without paying a penalty in the form of greater warp breakage or greater nlling breakage. Another object of the invention is so to smooth the picking action as to lower the filling breakage. Another object of the invention is so to smooth the picking action as materially to reduce shuttle rebound which, in automatic looms, is a detriment, resulting in loom stoppage and the necessity of adjustment. Another object of the invention is to reduce knocking off (banging olf) Another object is to render the adjustment of the boxes (that is the binders thereof) less critical which will save many man hours in the setting up and operation of looms. Another object is to make a loom independent of conditions of humidity so far as mechanical functioning is concerned.

Another object of the invention is to improve the Recoil Picking Mechanism for Looms patented in my expired U. S. Patent #1,393,758, dated October 18, 1921. Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism of the class indicated which will operate year in and year out without failure. Another object is to provide a mechanism of the class indicated which will check the shuttle with a strong force as it comes into the box but which will not tend to make the shuttle rebound, all with such a simple mechanical arrangement as renders breakdown unlikely. Another object is to provide a foolproof check which starts to operate the moment the shuttle starts entry into the box, entirely independent of the binder and which reduces rebound instead of increasing it. Another object is to provide a thoroughly satisfactory mechanism for operating the picker sticks so that, after picking, they stay forward instead of being retracted by a spring, whereby such picker sticks help to stop the shuttle by their own inertia.

Another object of the invention is to reduce the amount of power required to operate a loom, which may seem insignificant in terms of one loom per one day but which becomes significant as measured by one thousand looms per year.

Another object is to make looms distinctly quieter which offhand may not seem of much importance but which, in terms of strain on human persons, is actually of the greatest importance. Another object is to cause the bobbin changing mechanism of an automatic loom to function more accurately with fewer breakdowns. Another object is to cause the feeler mechanism of an automatic loom to function more accurately. Another object is to provide a mechanism of the type indicated which can be applied as a change over to existing looms by the mere replacement of a few parts with the mechanism hereof.

Other objects will be in part obvious or in part pointed out hereinafter. v

In the accompanying drawings illustrating one of many possible embodiments of the mechanical features of this invention:

Figure 1 is an elevation of a unit mechanism or motion constructed in accordance with the invention together with a portion of the rock shaft of the loom in which the motion is incorporated, this motion comprising a picker stick holder, a supporting bracket to which it is articulated and the toggle elements which specifically appertain to this invention, the spring being omitted in this View in order not to obscure other parts.

Figure 2 is a sectional View, mostly in a vertical plane, the remainder in a nearly vertical plane, taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, showing both springs which coact with the toggle elements.

Figure 3 is-a plan view of the supporting bracket and the rock shaft to which it is attached. Y

Referring rst to Figures 1 and 3, practically all drop box looms and other looms-having spindle guided pickers have a rockshait it. The motion of this invention is attached to this rock shaft. Since there has to be a picking mechanism at each end of the loom and since many drop box looms have spindle'guided pickers at each end of the lay even when', as in the case of automatic looms, there is a single box at one end of the lay, there will ordinarily be a motion according to this invention attached toeach end of the rock shaft l. In certain cases, however, where the single box end of the rock shaft has a parallel motion, the shuttle check, picking mechanism and parallel motion for looms according to my copending application Serial No. 53,532, filed October 8, 1948, now Patent No, 2,525,776, granted October 1 7, 1950, may be used on such single box end, or'the single box end might have any old or prior art mountingfor the picker stick. Thus, in

accordance with this invention, either one or two and typical `example the loom has a drop box, say with four cells, at one end of the lay and a single box at the magazine end of the lay, and spindle guided pickers at each end of the lay, and in such looms two of my motions should be used.

It is not necessary to illustrate the loom at allmy motions are simply fastened to the rock shaft, replacing the brackets already there, and other than to adjust the picking lug straps to permit the picker sticks to remain forward after the shuttle lies without preventing the batwings (cams) from returning to their upper positions, and relaxing the shuttle box binder springs (or removing them) there is no change in the mechanism of the loom apart from the replacement of the old picker stick mounting mechanisms with' my motions. Some of these considerations were dealt with in my prior Patent #1,393,758 of October 18, 1921.

Referring now to Figure 3, a bracket I is bored to receive the rock shaft l5 and has a pair of set screws I3 with lock nuts I4 to grip the rock shaft I0 and thereby to hold the bracket II fast thereon. 'I'he bracket II has an integral boxrod guiding portion I3 having a bore |'I which is a socket to receive the box-rod (not shown) permitting the box-rod to move up and down under the control of the compound levers. This portion I6 may be omitted at the single box end.

outwardly of the portion I6 the bracket I has an offset |8 beyond which is a fork |9 which is thereby displaced, rearwardly of the loom, from the box-rod guiding portion I6. This places the plane of the picker stick rearwardly (in the loom) of the box-rod, as it should be. Referring now to Figure 1, the offset I8 displaces the fork not only horizontally, but also vertically, the vertical displacement being for the purpose of providing room for the toggle mechanism. At all events the horizontal and vertical displacements are not new, instead they are quite approved for the purpose of pivoting the picker stick behind the box-rod and above the level of the rock shaft, the former because the picker stick must, in all looms which are in the least conventional, move in a plane to the rear of the box-rod, and the latter because the rock shaft is so close to the floor that it has usually been desirable to locate the picking fulcrum higher than the rock shaft, but a vertical offset is especially desirable in the present case since there are elements of the toggle mechanism below the fulcrum. The entire bracket I I including the portion I 5, the oiset I8 and the fork I9 is preferably an integral piece of metal and can be made of cast iron.

Referring now to Figures l and 2, the picker stick (only a portion of which is shown) may be a conventional wooden picker stick and is secured in a holder 2| which may be made of cast iron. The details of the devices for securing the picker stick 2|! to the holder 2| may be varied widely- I have shown the holder 2| as having a rectangular socket 22 to receive the picker stick and at one margin of the socket 22 I have provided a long gib 23 which can be forced against the stick 20 by means of set screws 24 which can be secured in tightened position by lock nuts 25. As a further securing device I provide a bolt 25 which passes right through the picker stick and screws into the far side of the holder 2|.

Referring now to Figure 2, extending through the holder 2| below the socket 22 is a bore 30 and through the prongs of the fork I9 are bores 3|. Passing through these bores 30 and 3| is a bronze sleeve 32 and extending through the sleeve 32 is a steel pivot stud 33 on the threaded end 35 of which are two nuts 31, 33. Thus the holder 2| is articulated to the fork I9 of the bracket and it can readily be seen that the holder 2| can swing freely, with little friction, on the bracket Referringnow to Figures 1 and 2, extending laterally from the holder 2| are a pair of integral arms 40. At the ends of these arms 4B are bosses 4I through which are threaded bores 42 in which are screw bolts 43 having heads 44. On the bolts 43 are lock nuts 45. The lower ends of the bolts 43 have holes 46 in which are anchored springs 4l.

Referring now to Figures 1, 2 and 3, the bracket has additionally an integral downwardly extending portion 5|] on the bottom of which are integral laterally extending arms 5| having grooves 52 over which the lower ends of the springs 41 are hooked. Cotter pins 53 extend through holes 54 in the projections 55 forming the side walls of the grooves 52 thus to hold the springs 4'! from jumping out of the grooves 52. It will readily be seen that this is an adjustable spring toggle mechanism which biases the picker stick 25 towards either end of its stroke. From Figure 1 it will be observed that the breaking point of the toggle is at a point where the picker stick is nearer the outer end of the box than the inner end thereof.

The loom operates in the usual manner except that when either of the picker sticks propels the shuttle, it stays forward (at the end of the box towards the center of the loom) so that when the shuttle returns to the box it has to expend energy driving the picker into the box by reason of the spring toggle mechanism tending to hold the picker stick and therefore the picker forward. This greatly reduces the requirement for braking by the binder. Thus, in turn, the box need not be so tight as formerly, so therefore much less energy is expended in picking. Once the shuttle has pushed the picker stick beyond the breaking point of the toggle, the stick is firmly held with the picker back (outwardly of the loom) in the box. The entire combination results in a smoother pick with less expenditure of energy, less noise, less vibration and less wear. The tension of the binder springs can be greatly relaxed and sometimes they can be removed altogether, the pressure of the knock-off finger being suflicient to prevent shuttle rebound. The tension of the springs 5l can easily be adjusted by turning the bolts 43 to change the distance between them and the arms 5|. The toggle action is well balanced by the provision of two springs 47 extending between a pair of arms 4f! and a pair of arms 5|. The springs 4'! actually return some of the energy to the picking action which they derived from stopping the incoming shuttle.

By breaking point of the toggle I mean the position of the parts in which the axes of the springs 4'! are in a plane with the axis of the pivot stud 33. This is a neutral position in which the springs 47 exert no force on the holder 2| so far as tending to move the picker stick in or out is concerned. By outer end of the box I mean the end of the box farthest from the center of the loom. By having the breaking point of the toggle near the outer end of the box the mechanism checks the shuttle through a longer distance than it would were the breaking point near the inner end of the box. By arranging the mechanism so that the toggle goes through a breaking point every time it is actuated I provide a force to hold the picker stick and the picker outwardly when the shuttle is in the box so that there will be no interference with the action of the box motion and no tendency to rebound the shuttle. It will be seen that the mechanism exerts its greatest force when the picker stick is forward and that the force diminishes as the shuttle goes into the box, and this gives an ideal check to the shuttle. At the same time the mechanism is rugged and simple and not liable to get out of order. It will be seen that the holder 2| is connected to the bracket Il by a pivot so located that the holder can' be moved angularly in a plane parallel to the rock shaft I0.

It will thus be seen that there has been provided by this invention apparatus in which the various objects hereinbefore set forth together with many thoroughly practical advantages are successfully achieved. As many possible embodiments may be made of the above invention and as many changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A check for looms comprising a bracket formed for attachment to a loom rock shaft, a holder for a picker stick, a pivot connecting the holder to the bracket so located that the holder can be angularly moved for picking in a plane parallel to the rock shaft, an arm on the bracket, an arm on the holder, and a spring connecting the arms, the arms, the spring and the pivot forming a toggle to bias the holder to urge the picker stick forward in relation to a loom shuttle box when the holder is in the picker stick forward position.

2. A check as claimed in claim 1 in which the toggle has a breaking point with the holder in a position intermediate its extreme positions of picking, whereby the toggle will bias the holder to hold the picker stick outwardly when a shuttle is in the box.

3. A check for looms comprising a bracket formed for attachment to a loom rock shaft, a holder for a picker stick, a pivot connecting the holder to the bracket so located that the holder can be angularly moved for picking in a plane parallel to the rock shaft, a pair of arms on the bracket one on either side of the pivot, a pair of arms on the holder one on either side of the pivot, and springs connectingv the arms, one spring extending from an arm on the bracket to an arm on the holder on one side of the pivot and the other spring extending froman arm on the bracket to an arm on the holder on the other side of the pivot, the arms, the springs and the pivot forming a balanced toggle to bias the holder to urge the picker stick forward in relation to a loom shuttle box when the holder is in the picker stick forward position.

4. A check as claimed in claim 3 in which the toggle has a breaking point with the holder in a position intermediate its extreme positions of picking, whereby the toggle will bias the holder to hold the picker stick outwardly when a shuttle is in the box.

GEORGE CROMPTON, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,070,768 Brunelle Aug. 19, 1913 1,797,952 Gargolinski Mar. 24, 193,1V 

